A cheap dog toy purchased from B&M caused a six year old Labrador to die, after it got lodged in her stomach.

Lynn Barton, 54, decided to treat her four dogs to some bargain Christmas toys, but became worried weeks later when one went missing - and dog Maddie started showing considerable signs of illness.

At first, she believed it could just be an upset stomach, but after taking Maddie to the vets, they found a huge obstruction in Maddie's intestine, leaving her needing major surgery.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Lynn said: “We noticed something was wrong because she wasn’t eating, and on a walk with my daughter she started vomiting bits of plastic, and then she threw up again.

Maddie and Lynn's daughter Rebecca

“We took her to the vets and got her X-rayed and there was a huge blockage, she was really out of sorts and was clearly in pain so they had to operate.”

Despite making it through the operation, Maddie’s owners had to make the heartbreaking decision to put their dog to sleep as complications from the surgery had left her stomach leaking digestive fluid - putting her in a lot of pain and discomfort.

Lynn added: “We saw her after the surgery and she was really groggy but she could at least stand up. The vet told us she wasn’t out of the woods and that the 72 hours following the operation would be critical.

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“Sadly, she hadn’t improved the next day but she was gaining weight which meant that there was fluid leaking from her stomach. They said the kindest thing to do was to put her to sleep so we went to the vets and she passed away with all of us around her.”

Vets at Rutland House, near Lynn’s home in St Helens, showed the family the contents of what had been removed from Maddie’s bowels - and they were shocked when they discovered it was from the Christmas toy.

Lynn said: “The vet had kept the contents in a bag, and it was the toy. It used to make a crinkly noise, and what had actually blocked her stomach was the plastic stuffing that made the noise.

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“There was bits of plastic from the toy and also stuffing and it had completely blocked her intestines. The vets had actually had to cut it open and put it back together to remove the blockage.

“I feel guilty for even buying the toy. I think if I could turn back time and not buy it then this would never have happened. You can’t supervise dogs all the time, even though the toys tell you to supervise them. I’m not giving them any toys any more and I’d say to other dog owners that they should be careful of these toys".

A spokesperson for B&M said: “The safety of our customers and their pets is upmost importance to us. We believe this to be an isolated incident and all other products are safe.

“We also issue a disclaimer on our pet toys to advise customers which is standard in the industry.

“We always recommend that if a pet toy becomes damaged from use, you should take it off your pet for their safety.”